The Importance of Point of Purchase

Over the past 20 years, retail brands have significantly increased their leverage over consumer product brands because (1) they increasingly control access to products and (2) the environment in which the products are sold and (3) they have point of sale data to which manufacturers are not always privy. And given the relative size of some of the largest retailers (Wal-Mart’s sales of $246.9 billion [October, 2006] eclipses P&G’s sales [all brands] of $68.2 billion), retailers don’t only affect product sales and market share directly through product access/distribution, but also indirectly by contributing to marketplace exposure/brand awareness.

Point of purchase is the place where everything a brand has done either results in a sale or doesn’t. While most consumers still state that product brands are more important to them than retail brands, most would not waste the time to seek out their preferred brand at another store if it is not available where they are shopping. And, according to a 2005 Economist article, consumers spend no more than 6 seconds trying to find a preferred brand before they give up and settle for a substitute.

So, how can you maximize your product brand’s probability of success at point of purchase? Through the following:

•Offering a unique or superior product sought out by the consumer prior to entering the store
•Developing emotional connection and loyalty to your brand before and after the point of purchase
•Creating a prominently visible brand identity (as seen from a shelf facing)
-- Including distinctive packaging size/shape/colors
•Developing point of purchase signage that simply and powerfully communicates:
-- Your brand’s most compelling point(s) of difference
-- Your brand’s superior value (remembering that value has a numerator and a denominator -- this usually does not translate to lowest price)
•Understanding retailer metrics and motivations and developing product programs accordingly
•Working very closely with retailers’ category managers to ensure that your products receive maximum attention, consideration and placement
•In conjunction with the category manager, developing innovative in-store promotions that highlight your products and brand(s)
•Creating your own retail outlets so that you can develop and control a superior point of purchase experience